Spurring widespread protests, Novartis AG on Monday filed an appeal in its ongoing battle to patent its cancer treatment Gleevec in India, asking the Madras High Court to clarify a key section of the country’s patent laws governing whether companies can protect new versions of drugs whose patents have expired.

The Thai government said Monday that is has approved the compulsory licensing of two drugs, one for treating heart disease and one for HIV/AIDS, paving the way for the sale of generic versions of the drugs in that country and effectively breaking their patents.

Inside sources are predicting that the European Commission will refrain from recommending a sweeping overhaul of credit card interchange fees, and will instead push for a more studied approach to reform, according to a published report.

Concern over private investment in public equity (PIPEs) transactions has led the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission to take a new approach to monitoring and regulating the deals, according to a senior SEC staffer.

On the heels of a Senate hearing to examine how airline mergers are likely to affect consumers, two U.S. senators are urging Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to make sure any potential consolidations in the industry are “carefully and thoroughly” examined before being given the green light.

In a move that will loosen regulations on insurers, hairdressers, airlines, petrol pumps and many other types of businesses, the Italian government has passed a big package of measures to liberalize the market and heighten business competition across the country.

A Senate committee is set to hear testimony on Tuesday on transportation sector fuel economy, including challenges to and incentives for increased oil savings, one week after President George W. Bush unveiled a plan to slash the nation’s gasoline consumption by 20% by 2017.

Norway ruled on Thursday that Apple’s FairPlay music system for its iPods was nowhere near fair and ordered the company to open access to its music downloads by Oct. 1, putting even more pressure on Apple’s position in the European market.

In light of the pending union between exchanges Euronext N.V. and NYSE Group Inc., the Securities and Exchange Commission and a group of European regulators on Thursday signed an agreement aimed at ensuring oversight, investor protection and market stability and integrity.

The AFL-CIO is increasing its efforts to drum up support for the union-friendly Employee Free Choice Act, a key piece of bipartisan legislation pending in Congress that the labor federation vows would significantly improve the lives of workers nationwide.

Bringing a six-year legal dispute to an end for hundreds of doctors employed by the county of Los Angeles, the county board of supervisors has agreed to pay $10.1 million to the doctors after the board denied them benefits for joining a union.

The chairman of US Airways Group Inc. on Wednesday told lawmakers that the carrier’s $10.2 billion hostile bid for bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. would benefit consumers and create one of the most financially stable airlines in the industry, even as Delta’s chief executive testified that his company wants to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved several changes to the National Association of Securities Dealers’ arbitration code, which had been proposed by the self-regulatory association in an effort to make arbitration and mediation more transparent.

The European Commission’s internal markets regulator on Wednesday closed the infringement action it launched against Italy over how the nation handled two attempted takeovers of domestic lenders by non-Italian banks.